The Glen by Parvathi Ramkumar

(2 ratings) Rate this Story (5 best) 1 2 3 4 5

‘Ridiculous,' she said out loud. ‘Plagiarized.'

And the honours went to Tanya.

Saraswathi, listening to this pronouncement from her seat, was disappointed. She had written a good story...

Hadn't she?

‘One more thing,' Mrs. Kurien said, throwing her a look. ‘If you don't have ideas, don't write. Never, and I mean never, copy somebody else's work. And then pretend that it's your own.'

Flabbergasted, Saraswathi sat up straight. ‘But I never copied!'

Ignoring her, Mrs. Kurien proceeded to praise Tanya's effort. The girl smiled, as if shy, and stood up to an uproarious classroom. Surely she was the best bet to bring honour to the school.

Later that evening, Saraswathi stared at the woods again as dusk fell. This time, there was nothing, nothing at all.

Dejected, she was about to draw the curtains, and then she stiffened.

Strange shapes were moving in the wood. They looked peculiar in the dazzling moonlight.

Without a thought, the little girl ran after them, tripping over roots and shrubs. The shapes moved away from her, as the light had done.

She stopped, listening to the sounds of a gurgling stream, and then moved towards the sounds. Suddenly, she found herself in a wide clearing, where the silver moonlight was bright and radiant, where the ground was smooth and almost twinkling. Above, the sky was ablaze with stars. A stream gushed its way through ahead, and as she strained her eyes, she saw a path.

Tentative, but overawed by the bright moonlight, she followed the path.

It twisted and turned, until she stopped short, her heart beating fast.

She was facing a glen. A glen she had never seen before.

There were buildings too in the glen. Small, neat, compact buildings, with high rising roofs and tiny chimneys. It was too far way to see clearly, and she was afraid to descend into the glen. She saw now that she was standing on a cliff.

There were lights in the glen, small, twinkling lights, similar to the ones she had seen. They sparkled, moving in and out of buildings. Little lights of gold.

She turned, meaning to go back home.

She followed the path again, and it led her back to the clearing.

It wasn't long before she was back at home, and her grandmother was calling her to eat. She was surprised. Didn't it take her more than a minute, her journey into the wood and the discovery of the glen? She stared at the clock. Hardly five minutes had passed since she had left her room.

By then, her imagination was fired up, and she began to scribble furiously.

Mrs. Kurien read and re-read Saraswathi's work, and then her mind began to churn. Before long, she realized that the child wasn't copying. She wasn't plagiarizing. There was something unusual about this girl, this young girl called Saraswathi.

But she said nothing, and praised Tanya.

This time, Saraswathi was prepared, and even applauded her classmate's accomplishments.

‘Congratulations,' she told her after the class was over. ‘You're easily the best.'

Confused, Tanya attempted to smile. ‘Why...er...thank you.' There was a new air of confidence about Saraswathi that she found rather intimidating.